The present invention relates to a water washing apparatus which can save on water consumption and can continuously conduct effective water washing of the cloth.
Heretofore various kinds of continuous water washing apparatus for cloth have been developed because a cloth which has been dyed, scoured, bleached, and resin processed, etc., needs to be washed in a continuous manner. However, in such water washing apparatus, generally speaking a large volume of water is used, therefore it cannot meet the requirement for conserving water resources now considered to be a worldwide necessity. When it is tried to save on water in a conventional water washing apparatus there is the problem that the processing agent used in a preceding process remains in the cloth after the water washing process leaving mottled spots in the finished product, thus a large amount of cleaning water is used to avoid the problem.
The present inventors have developed a water washing apparatus which meets the requirement for saving water resources and have applied for a patent for such a water saving type of washing apparatus which includes a liquid tank having its upper end open, and multi-layer guide rolls in two opposing columns, in a staggered arrangement are provided above the liquid tank for continuously pulling up the cloth upward in a zigzag manner. Water receptacles are provided below the guide rolls so that a lower plane of each guide roll is dipped in the water. Further, a cleaning water supply tank provides cleaning water to the uppermost water receptacle so that cleaning water is supplied, in turn to each water receptacle, flowing down by gravity.
However, in the water washing apparatus of the previous patent application, cleaning water stagnates on the cloth being processed as it is shifted upwardly from the liquid tank and is placed around the oppositely disposed guide rolls in a staggered manner for horizontal shifting. A sag is generated on a horizontally shifting portion of the cloth due to the weight of the stagnating water, and the sag causes creases in the cloth as it is shifted around the guide rolls, forming obstacles for uniform water washing and causing an unsightly finished product.
Further, the present inventors have observed such insufficiency or shortcoming in the above mentioned water washing apparatus in the previous patent application for avoiding the waste of water, since each water receptacle is completely filled with water, when the width of the cloth being processed is considerably narrower than the total width of the water receptacle, the cleaning water in the side portions of the water receptacle not occupied by the cloth does not serve for cleaning process and flows out to the next lower water receptacle uselessly. Accordingly the inventors have felt a need for further improvement to ensure the water preservation.
Moreover, in the water washing apparatus of the previous patent application, since cleaning water is supplied without any relationship to the shifting speed of the cloth being processed, for example when the amount of cleaning water flows out is not in balance with the shifting speed of the cloth, cleaning water will be wasted or the cleaning process will be incomplete, thus an effective cleaning may not be done. That is, the amount of water flowing out needs to be adjusted so that it is not in excess nor in short supply considering the shifting speed of the cloth.